


bridges

by orphan_account



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, pierced!kuroko, they're switching places it's literally an exchange program, this got out of hand
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2015-08-15
Packaged: 2018-04-14 20:13:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4578372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After finally getting to try the exchange program after all this time, Kuroko is taken by surprise when he finds that he’s exchanging with the rich Akashi Seijuurou</p>
            </blockquote>





	bridges

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pyunsukee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyunsukee/gifts).



> Okay, so Gemma posted a screenshot of this one akakuro AU where they’re exchange students, and I loved the idea even though I know nOTHING about foreign exchange programs and I don’t even live in LA or Kyoto but hEY HERE THIS THING IS. Seriously though, I know nothing of exchange programs though I’m fairly sure this isn’t how they work. Pretend with me, please
> 
> For pyunsukee because I heard congratulations were in order so I finally got off my ass to edit this. So congratulations on getting into uni!!! I hope everything goes really well for you because you really are so sweet ;;;

“Foreign exchange program?” Taiga repeats dubiously to Tetsuya, and the blue-haired boy sighs at his idiotic friend.

“Yes, a foreign exchange program. I’ll be going to Kyoto, Japan, to attend the school of Rakuzan Gakuen for six months, during which I will be staying at the home of the person exchanging with me,” he explains, and notes that Daiki frowns and Ryouta’s eyes widen.

“Six months?” Three voices repeat in varying levels of distress. In Ryouta’s case, it’s more of a screech. Tetsuya rubs his ears. He must be half deaf because of his three very loud, very boisterous friends.

“Yes, six months. It’s not that bad,” he tries to convince them, but they look like he just told them he was going away for six _years_. He sighs and crosses his arms. “I’m going. I already submitted my request. I really want to do this, you know.” Even if his friends don’t approve, he _is_ going. He’s always wanted to try the program, and now that his grandmother is healthy and will be fine without him (not to mention that she’ll have his friends, his dog, and the student exchanging with him), he can leave her for a while to go abroad. 

Daiki sighs. “We know, but six months is still a long time. Is Gram going to be okay without you?” He asks, worried. Tetsuya smiles at him. His friends just refer to his grandmother like they would their own because she’s been in their lives for so long.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. She has you all, and besides, the student I’m exchanging with will be staying at my house with her.”

It’s Taiga’s turn to frown. “But what if they’re like psycho or something?” When everyone casts him a flat look, he puts his hands up in defense. “Hey! I’m just saying. You never know.”

“First of all,” Tetsuya starts, exasperated, “’they’re’ a he. Rakuzan is an all-male school. Secondly, I honestly doubt that a psychotic student would be allowed in the exchange program. And, anyway, I’ll be talking to him before he comes here, so I’ll be able to tell what kind of person he is.”

“But—” Taiga starts again, but Daiki whacks him upside the head, eliciting a yelp from the red-haired teen.

“Shut up, idiot! Tetsu’s really good at analyzing people, remember? It’s seriously unlikely that this guy is going to be crazy, anyway.” Turning to Tetsuya, he frowns, a thoughtful look in his eye. “But, you don’t know that much Japanese. You know more than we do, but probably not enough. What are you going to do about that?”

Tetsuya sighs. Unfortunately, he still hasn’t figured that out yet. He can speak it quite decently, thanks to his grandmother, but he still struggles with reading and writing it, especially kanji.

“I’m not sure,” he admits, looking up to gaze at the basketball court they had been playing at. Leaves blow across the court in the chilly wind, and Tetsuya suppresses a shiver. “I was thinking that maybe the person I’m exchanging with would be willing to help me. In return, I can help him with his English, if he needs it.”

“That’s a pretty good idea,” Ryouta reluctantly acknowledges, still probably sad that Tetsuya is going away. The blue-haired teen gives him a consoling pat on the shoulder. The blond pouts. “I’m still sad that you’re going, but I understand. I hope you have a good time.” He smiles sincerely, and Tetsuya can’t help but smile in return.

“Thank you, Ryouta.”

“Well, guess we can’t change your mind, so just have fun and be careful while you’re there, okay?” Taiga grunts, as mothering as ever, and Daiki rolls his eyes at him. Tetsuya jabs the other blue-haired man in the ribs and offers a smile to Taiga, along with a nod.

“Ugh…” Daiki groans, rubbing his side, as Taiga snickers at him and Ryouta laughs. The tanned man glares at them. “Oh, har har, laugh it up.” With a resigned sigh, he turns back to Tetsuya. “What they said, and also, make sure you call us at least a few times a week. We might kill each other if you don’t check up on us.” It’s said jokingly, but Tetsuya knows how rowdy these three are and knows that it would probably be a good idea to frequently check up on them.

“I will. And thank you for all the well wishes, but… you do realize I’m not leaving for another month, right?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Akashi Seijuurou is a patient man.

He is.

Really.

But even he has his limits, and apparently, they are flooding the gymnasium because his _idiotic_ team forgot to turn off the locker room showers when they left the previous day. (Honestly, he has no idea how that even _happened_.) After a serious reprimanding by the school, the team was hoping to leave it there, but their almighty captain stepped in and started lecturing them. After that, since practice had to be canceled due to aforementioned flooding, Seijuurou sent them out to run laps around the school grounds, which are, he thinks with a smug air, quite large.

And now he is looking forward to going through with this exchange program due to the fact that it means a break from his team.

Rakuzan may be the ‘king’ in basketball, but its team is ridiculous off the court. Seijuurou knows he should reign them in more, but he doesn’t like to make everything so stiff and controlled. Of course, this has now backfired on him, but he digresses.

“Who are you exchanging with?” Mayuzumi Chihiro asks, a previous first-stringer that got there on his own with some motivation from Mibuchi Reo, who wouldn’t leave him alone. Mayuzumi isn’t talented, not really, but his skillset is still decent, which is why he was on the first string.

He says ‘previous’ because Mayuzumi has long-graduated, being two years older than Seijuurou himself. Even so, he still comes around sometimes (Seijuurou gets the distinct impression it’s just to annoy him), and he and Mibuchi had the misfortune of helping out the basketball team the previous day, so they had been caught up in Seijuurou’s punishment.

Seijuurou hums as he continues to do his work. “I’m not sure yet. There’s an envelope with all the information in it inside my bag, but I was going to open it when I got home.” He had received it that morning, because all of the details had been set.

He hears a rustling sound and looks up, only to see the gray-haired university student rummaging through his bag. The redhead frowns. “Mayuzumi-san.”

Mayuzumi spares him a bored glance. “If you’re not going to open it now, I am.” He finally snags a large yellow envelope, and a satisfied smile crosses his face as he moves to rip it open. Before he can, a hand snatches it out of his grasp.

“Mind your own business, Mayuzumi-san,” Seijuurou says, exasperated, as he retrieves his bag to tuck the envelope back inside. The envelope is stolen from his hand again, and this time, his eyes narrow. He’s had enough ridiculousness for the day, thank you very much, and just because bitter old Mayuzumi wants payback for running laps around the school doesn’t mean that Seijuurou will just let him snoop through things that don’t concern him.

Mayuzumi is halfway out the classroom when Seijuurou stands and runs after him. Mayuzumi waves the envelope tauntingly before spotting Mibuchi up ahead. “Hey, Mibuchi! Catch!” The shooting guard turns in surprise, and when Mayuzumi tosses the envelope, he catches it, confused.

“What—”

“Mibuchi-san, give me my envelope!” Seijuurou snaps, hoping that at least _one_ of his former teammates is sane.

Apparently not, because Mibuchi is already taking off. He’s probably still sour about the fact that his hair got ruined due to the humidity outside, and the fact that there were no showers to fix it. The other gymnasiums were not open to the basketball team, if you hadn’t deduced that yet. Mibuchi had spent twenty minutes in a bathroom trying to fix his hair.

As Mibuchi runs, he opens the envelope, much to Seijuurou’s chagrin. Before the redhead can yell at him again, Mibuchi says, just a hint of befuddlement in his voice, “Kuroko Tetsuya?” Despite the distance between them, Seijuurou still hears him, and his interest is piqued. That’s the name of the student he’s exchanging with? Is he Japanese, too?

The black-haired shooting guard stops running and turns to Seijuurou with a sheepish grin. “Sorry, is this private or something, Sei-chan?” He casts a slight glare at Mayuzumi. “Mayu-chan, you shouldn’t go snooping in Sei-chan’s business. Even if I’m upset, too, this doesn’t have anything to do with us.”

Mayuzumi rolls his eyes and snatches the paper from Mibuchi. “Let me see that. It’s just the guy Akashi’s exchanging with.” His eyes flit over the paper, and in that time, Seijuurou catches up, retrieves his envelope from Mibuchi, and then plucks the paper out of Mayuzumi’s hands with an accusatory glare.

“Five more laps. Both of you.”

Mibuchi groans while Mayuzumi scoffs. Mibuchi trudges off, and before Mayuzumi follows him, the gray-haired man casts Seijuurou a smirk. “You’ve got an interesting guy there. I can’t wait to meet him.” With that ominous statement, Mayuzumi disappears down the hall.

Seijuurou sighs and looks down at the paper to read it since it’s already been pulled out. The student he’s exchanging with is named Kuroko Tetsuya, 17 years old and a senior in high school (fourth year of high school, which puzzles Seijuurou for a moment, but he remembers that high school runs for four years in the US). It has his email address if he wishes to contact him, which is encouraged since they’re exchanging homes as well. He doesn’t see what’s so interesting about him until he spots the additional notes on him. It says that he’s…

…a basketball player.

Seijuurou lifts an eyebrow. He’s the captain, actually, according to the paper. Additionally, he’s a helper at the school library. Basketball, though…

At least they have something in common.

Seijuurou heads back to the empty classroom to gather his bags so that he can go home (by the time Mibuchi and Mayuzumi are done with their extra laps, the stragglers from the punishment laps should have finally finished so he doesn’t have to supervise anymore). He pulls out his phone so he can register Kuroko’s email, but he’s surprised to see a new email in his inbox, and from Kuroko no less. He hadn’t checked his phone all day. He’s starting to regret that.

The email is simple, and he’s once again surprised when it’s written in Japanese. There are a couple mistakes, but it’s obvious he did his best. _Hello, this is Kuroko Tetsuya, the student you are exchanging with. I was wondering if you wish to exchange Skypes so we can communicate easier. Sorry to take up your time._

He squints. He’s heard of Skype before, but he’s never had any need to use it. His mother doesn’t go out of the country very often, and when she does, they normally just speak over the phone.

Perhaps one of his maids can help him with this Skype thing.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Tetsuya is recovering from a very harsh game of CS:GO with his friends when he checks his email and finds a reply from Seijuurou Akashi, the student in Japan that he’s exchanging with. Seijuurou is his age and is also in his final year of high school (three years in Japan), and surprisingly enough, he plays basketball, too. He’s the captain to boot. Other than that, he’s the student council president.

_Hi, Kuroko-kun. Skype is fine. My name is Akashi Seijuurou....though you already knew that._

He goes on his Skype and finds him, double-checking to make sure he has the right one. After submitting a contact request, he emails Seijuurou back. _My name is Tetsuya Kuroko, just in case. Also, you don’t need to be so formal with me. I don’t mind._

With a sigh, he joins back in the chat and finds that his friends want to play League of Legends next. He’s not surprised. He checks the time. _A little after one in the morning on a Friday night._ He shrugs and says that he’ll go with them. Satsuki is coming on, too, so they have a full team.

He just wonders who’s going to win the first round of ‘Who Gets to Go Bot with Tetsuya.’

(It turns out to be a very satisfied Satsuki.)

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Seijuurou sees Kuroko’s contact request and accepts it. He’s also troubled by the formal part of the email. It must be the honorific. Since Kuroko lives in the US, he’s probably not used to being addressed as such. But Seijuurou can’t just call him by his first name. He could drop the honorific, he supposes…   

“So you and your new friend are going to Skype tomorrow?” His maid, a woman in her thirties named Hanae Aya, asks, dusting a lamp in one of the many large rooms in the Akashi mansion. Hanae is the one who helped him set up his Skype; she uses it to communicate with her son, who is going to university in London.

Seijuurou looks up from his phone, where he was just reading a reply from Kuroko asking if it was okay if they talked tomorrow instead of today, to which he was responding with a simple: Okay. “I suppose so,” he replies, sitting up straighter. He sends the message before tacking on, “I don’t know if we’re just chatting or video-calling.”

Hanae hums and then regards the fireplace (which is currently not in use due to it still being late summer to early fall) thoughtfully. “I wonder if he’s cute,” she ponders aloud. Seijuurou casts her a flat look.

“Hanae-san. Please.”

The brown-haired woman raises her hands in a placating gesture, but a smile is still tugging at her mouth. “Okay, okay,” she relents, going back to dusting the furnishings. “But aren’t you the least bit curious?”

Seijuurou sighs. He’s a little curious, sure. Kuroko will be living in his house for six months, so he’d like to get to know him beforehand.

But does how he look really matter? Maybe, if you regard the Rakuzan dress policy. In his opinion, though, it doesn’t matter what he looks like. He’s not that superficial.

“I suppose I’m a little curious,” is what he settles for as an answer, which seems to satisfy Hanae, who focuses on the task at hand. He wonders where the rest of the staff is. If he recalls, today is his butler’s day off, so that leaves the cook (who often has non-vicious squabbles with his mother over who gets to cook), Hanae, the gardener, and one more maid.

His father was a wealthy man, but he passed not long after Seijuurou was born, so the redhead doesn’t remember him. The wealth was inherited by his wife and son, who were both quite conservative of it and didn’t use it for much. The family business went to Seijuurou’s uncle, but he and his mother shared some power in the company, also inherited from his father. Generally, they left the company in his uncle’s hands, since he did a good job of running it, anyway. His uncle offers them money often, but his mother works her own job despite her late husband’s wealth being enough to last a lifetime, so his uncle’s help is usually turned down.

He wonders if Kuroko is wealthy, too.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Tetsuya will only admit this in his head because he is a reasonable, polite person, but—

He hates his job.

There is nothing noble about flipping burgers.

Taiga and Daiki beg to differ. They get his employee discount when they order their mass of burgers they call their lunch or dinner, so it’s a win for them. For Tetsuya? Not so much. The pay sucks, he doesn’t want to _know_ what goes in these burgers, and he’s been burned by the fryer at least three times in the past week. His right forearm is wrapped in bandages, covering the latest burn.

Sadly, it’s the best job a poor teenager like himself can afford, and he needs the money. He’d work two jobs, but he tried that in his sophomore year, and nearly failed his grade because of how busy he was. He also got caught skipping a lot of his classes to sneak off to work. Normally he’s relatively invisible, so he chalks it up to bad luck.

It had stressed his grandmother out, which is the last thing he wanted to do, so he quit working two jobs and settled for one. There’s only so much he can cover, though. His grandmother is too old to work, but sometimes she sells the things she sews. They get by.

Barely, but they do.

He wanted a job at a café or coffee shop, since they probably paid better than a fast food joint (and maybe even had better tips), but he couldn’t find an opening. On the off-chance he did, he was rejected. So he’s stuck with this job.

Which he needs to give up since he’s going to Japan for six months.

At the very least, he has some money saved up from hard budgeting, so his grandmother should be alright on her own for a while. He hates accepting outside charity, but he knows that he can rely on his friends to help her out while he’s not there. He just hopes they don’t go overboard.

Speaking of Japan, he needs to call Seijuurou tomorrow morning. (Morning is a relative term. He’s not sure why he agreed to a call at two in the morning his time.) Hopefully it’s not too awkward. They don’t know each other, after all, but that’s the purpose of exchanging Skypes, right?

He sighs. He feels like he needs a vacation.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

So, Seijuurou is reflecting on his life and checking to see if he warranted any bad karma. He’s a good son, he treats the workers in the mansion well, and he tips _really_ well when he eats out. He gets good grades, is good to his basketball teammates, and he’s the model student.

No, he can’t remember doing anything that warranted _this_.

His patience has worn out for the second time in the past few days. Not due to a gym flooding, no. Today it was raining, but the gym had been repaired (thankfully, the school is very fast about these matters), so they could practice. After they changed into their uniforms, Seijuurou started their drills. This is where the storm cuts out power to the school.

By the time morning practice is done, the school still hasn’t fixed the power, and when they make the dash back to the other buildings, there is no salvation from the oddly chilly rain, just cool hallways and no heating. Not that the school was very warm in the first place; it often felt like a refrigerator. Perhaps the board was too cheap to turn on the heating system.

So this is where his teammates shiver in their wet uniforms as they trek to class, where they will undoubtedly be scolded for being wet. Seijuurou, who had the foresight to bring a raincoat, is spared. 

Doesn’t sound bad yet? Just wait, here’s the best part.

School finishes, which means afternoon basketball practice. As he is throwing his raincoat over his arm, heathens run by and splash up mud onto his pants and his raincoat, effectively ruining it. They don’t look back as they flee from the school. Seijuurou then manages to muster up enough dignity to walk through the now-drizzle to get to the gym, where he discards his ruined garments after changing into his uniform once more. The power is back on at this point, which is of little relief since not much heat is used in gyms, either.

Halfway through practice, the rain picks up again. When there’s a brief lull, Seijuurou decides to be merciful and allows them to go home early, cutting practice short. His good will is rewarded with the rain picking up as soon as he steps outside, and his teammates all start running, splashing mud everywhere.

And he means _everywhere_.

He had been wearing his track pants since his uniform pants had been ruined, but it doesn’t even matter because now his track pants are ruined as well. He isn’t the only unfortunate soul who ends up as such, but he is certainly the only one who has to explain, in the calmest voice he can muster, to his bewildered butler that has come to pick him up, “It was raining. My teammates ran.”

Their path home is delayed by traffic due to accidents from the slippery roads. By the time they get home, Seijuurou has no time to shower before Kuroko asks for him on Skype, so he has to settle for changing out of his disgusting clothes into a clean outfit and wiping as much mud as possible off of his body.

That brings him here, staring at the screen while music plays through his speakers, indicating an incoming call. It takes him a couple of seconds to stop being surprised, and he hastily answers it. Immediately, a screen pops up, and he catches a glimpse of sapphire before the person moves back. “—working?” He hears a quiet mutter before eyes alight on the screen again.

And he suddenly feels underdressed. And very filthy.

Kuroko Tetsuya is sitting in a chair in front of his computer, a homey looking room behind him. He is rather slender for a boy, with a thin build, but Seijuurou guesses that he’s around his height, if not shorter. Kuroko has light blue hair that falls into dark blue eyes, and when he turns his head a little, Seijuurou sees that he has an undercut. He has two piercings on each earlobe, but his right is the only one with studs in, and on his left ear he has three small rings trailing down the edge of his ear like tiny arches. He also has a hooped lip piercing through the top of his upper lip. 

He’s actually only wearing a simple gray shirt along with a short-sleeved blue jacket, but that doesn’t even matter. Though his features might be rather plain, his large blue eyes and soft jawline make a cute face despite the fact that he has piercings. Seijuurou actually likes the piercings—though they might seem intimidating on other people, they make Kuroko stand out a little and enhance his appearance. He already knows that he’d disagree with anyone who didn’t like Kuroko’s piercings.

Overall, Kuroko’s _very_ pretty, and yes, Seijuurou feels sorely out of place.

A breathtaking smile begins to stretch across Kuroko’s face when he spots him, but it fades as his expression turns concerned. “Um, Seijuurou? Is this a bad time?” He asks, staring at something on Seijuurou’s face. Oh. Mud. Right.

_He called me by my first name._

Seijuurou reminds himself that he’s American, so he’s used to calling other people by their first names, but his heart is still pounding in his chest.

This… was not how he expected their first meeting to go.

“Sei-kun!” Someone suddenly calls behind him, and both Seijuurou and Kuroko are taken by surprise. The redhead turns around and spots his mother standing in the doorway, hands on her hips and a frown on her face. “Go shower right now. You’re going to catch a cold like that,” she scolds him, walking over and pulling him up by the shirt sleeve. He opens his mouth to object, but Kuroko, who turns out to be quite the traitor, pipes in,

“I think you should listen to her.”

His mother gives an approving glance to the blue-haired boy while Seijuurou’s lips curve downward by his betrayal. He retains an innocent air and watches Seijuurou expectantly. With a huff, the redhead turns on his heel and walks off.

Then Kuroko would just have to wait for him to come back.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Tetsuya finds out that the pretty red-haired woman who sent Seijuurou packing is Shiori, his mother. Apparently, Seijuurou has inherited all of his looks from his mother (though his hair is strikingly brighter for some odd reason), from hair to eyes to skin. She apologizes to Tetsuya for the delay, but he understands.

“So, you’re Tetsuya-kun, right?” She asks, curious, as she sits down on the sofa in front of Seijuurou’s laptop. Tetsuya feels a little nervous; this is the woman he’ll be staying with for six months, so it’s understandable, isn’t it?

Not to mention… Seijuurou is rich. Rolling in it, even. He can tell, just by the quality of the sofa and the decorations around it. He can’t believe that he’s exchanging with a rich student. This is… surreal.

“I am, Shiori…” He racks his brain for a moment, “-san.” He isn’t used to honorifics, even English ones. When he’s talking to one of his friends’ parents, he just calls them ‘auntie’ or ‘uncle.’ The only time he refers to someone as a ‘Mr.’ or ‘Ms.’ is when they’re a stranger or of high authority.

Shiori smiles. “You’re not used to speaking in Japanese, are you?” When Tetsuya blushes a little, she laughs lightly. “It’s quite alright. I actually know English, so why don’t we speak in that for now?”

Tetsuya perks up at that. “Okay,” he answers back in English. “Do you mind if I call you Auntie?”

Shiori’s smile turns mischievous. “You can even call me ‘mom’ if it makes you feel more comfortable.”

He’s surprised by her good English, but he laughs awkwardly at her proposal. She makes it sound like she’s becoming his mom, which would only happen if he was marrying Seijuurou, and—wait, how did he get here? That’s a ridiculous thought. He shakes his head a little.

“That’s okay. I think I’ll stick with Auntie,” he says, and Shiori chuckles. She’s surprisingly easy to talk to, though. He can tell that she’s a kind woman. It makes him a little wistful, but he quickly shakes off the feeling.

“So, Tetsuya-kun, are you excited about the exchange? I’ll miss Sei-kun, but I think I’ll enjoy your presence around the house,” Shiori says with a twinkle in her eye, and Tetsuya can’t help but smile back. _Seijuurou is very lucky._

“I am excited. I’ve been wanting to try the foreign exchange program for a while, but timing hasn’t been all that great,” he notes with a quiet, rueful laugh. Shiroi smiles sympathetically.

“I see. Well, I’m glad you’re exchanging now. My son seems to like you already.”

Tetsuya tilts his head, curious. “Do you really think so?” He seemed a little affronted when Tetsuya sided with his mother on the matter of his shower. He couldn’t help it, though. The poor redhead looked like a muddy, bedraggled, waterlogged cat. Tetsuya couldn’t possibly ask him to stay just to save himself the trouble of waiting for Seijuurou to finish showering.

Shiori nods, her smile warm. “Of course! I can tell when Sei-kun is taken with a person. He’s not very sociable, you see. His only friends are some graduated seniors from his school and two other boys who go to different schools. Even though he handles people very well, he isn’t the type to make friends. But I can already tell that he likes you, so becoming friends should be no problem.”

Tetsuya is a bit surprised. It must be a small honor to be considered as such from Seijuurou, considering how Shiori speaks of him. He’s not sure what he did to make the redhead like him, but he’s glad. He doesn’t have very many friends, either, mostly just his closely knit community of Daiki, Taiga, Ryouta, and Satsuki, so he’d actually like a new friend.

Before Tetsuya can respond, Seijuurou walks back into the room. Now that he’s showered, Tetsuya can tell he’s quite good-looking, though you could still kind of tell even when he was covered in mud.

Seijuurou has short red hair with longer bangs and slanted ruby eyes that remind him of a cat’s. His skin is fair, a shade or two darker than Tetsuya’s own pale skin, and he has noticeable muscles, probably from being on the basketball team. Tetsuya subconsciously glances at his own arms. He has muscles, too, but they’re lean muscles made from all of his passes.

The red hair and eyes make him stand out enough as is, but he also has a handsome face with thin eyebrows and a sharp jawline. There’s an almost regal air about him—not obnoxious, no, but elegantly regal, as if he knows he’s rich but doesn’t quite care for showing it off. Does that even make sense? Tetsuya dismisses the thought.

Though Tetsuya thinks he’ll get along with Seijuurou, he wonders about his other friends. Ryouta, maybe, but Daiki and Taiga may be too brash for them to get along. _Well… at least I won’t be there to witness it._ That might not be a good thing, though.

“Sorry for the delay, Kuroko. There was some… trouble at my school,” Seijuurou says, his expression souring a little as if recalling the memories. Tetsuya holds in his chuckle. It’s a little comical to see Seijuurou like that, but he’s not sure why.

“It’s fine—” Tetsuya pauses, realizing he was still speaking in English. Seijuurou’s brow furrows, and Tetsuya switches back to his simple Japanese. “It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

Shiori smiles at him, standing from the sofa and brushing off her white dress. “Well, I’d best be going so you two boys can chat in peace.” Then, in English, she smiles at Tetsuya and says, “It was nice talking to you, Tetsuya-kun.”

Tetsuya smiles back. “Likewise, Auntie.”

Shiori waves before disappearing through the doorway. Seijuurou stares at Tetsuya for a long moment, obviously trying to decipher their short exchange. Tetsuya smiles at him. “You don’t know much English?” He asks, though he’s quite sure of the redhead’s answer.

Seijuurou shakes his head. “I know a little, but not much,” he admits. “I have to say, it was quite surprising to learn someone with your name was exchanging with me. Additionally, you can speak a good amount of Japanese.”

Tetsuya lets out a small laugh, waving a dismissive hand. He can understand that. It’s strange, even, that he and his friends all have Japanese names but have never been to Japan to themselves before. He can only imagine how it would seem to an outsider. “I wouldn’t say I know a lot,” he refutes, modestly. “And I know my name is surprising. My grandmother is Japanese, but she moved to America when she was younger. She still kept the names going, though. My last name is her maiden name.”

Seijuurou lifts an eyebrow. “That’s interesting.” Tetsuya tenses for a moment, wondering if he was going to ask why he took his grandmother’s maiden name, but then the other is breezing on with the conversation. “Well, might I ask what made you interested in the foreign exchange program?”

Tetsuya relaxes and then hums thoughtfully, absently playing with his lip ring. He catches Seijuurou’s worried gaze and shakes his head. “It’s fine. I’m not twisting it in a way that will hurt me,” he reassures him, which makes him relax. Tetsuya represses a smile. It’s nice that he’s concerned. And he doesn’t even mind the piercings, which is something refreshing.

“Well,” he finally begins, interlocking his fingers together as if he’s some businessman and chuckling internally at the thought, “I’ve always thought it would be nice to go to a different country and learn about different cultures. Circumstances held me back, so this is my only chance to try the program before I graduate.”

Seijuurou frowns. “I see. That’s too bad,” he says, and he sounds genuinely apologetic. Tetsuya casts an amused look through the camera. He doesn’t even know him and he already feels sorry for him. One might not expect that from a rich person, but Tetsuya appreciates the sentiment. The redhead’s eyes trail to his arm and lock onto the bandages that he’s still wearing over his burns. “What happened?” He asks, curious.

Tetsuya laughs awkwardly, scratching his cheek. He would take off the bandages to show him, but it’s a second-degree burn and not too pretty. “I burned myself at work,” he admits. He’s taken aback by Seijuurou’s surprised expression. “What is it? A lot of people burn themselves on the fryer.” _New people and clumsy people, but he doesn’t need to know that._

Seijuurou blinks. “Oh,” he says, slowly, shaking his head a little. “No, I’m just a little surprised, is all. Maybe it’s different in America… but students here are highly discouraged from getting jobs while they’re in school.”

Tetsuya sits back in surprise. He knows so many people that have jobs despite still being in school, and he himself has had several different jobs stretching all the way back to middle school, so this is a little… “I didn’t know that,” he admits, looking off to the side. His grandmother is sleeping, so it’s just him in the room. “It’s actually quite normal for students here to have jobs. I’ve been working since middle school.”

Seijuurou’s eyes widen, and Tetsuya vaguely gets the feeling that he’s fascinated. Their cultures are so different that it’s not surprising. “Since middle school? I can’t imagine that,” he breathes, amazed. Tetsuya regards him curiously. He reminds him of a wide-eyed child getting a glimpse of the world for the first time. Maybe it’s not that far from the truth. Seijuurou looks like the prodigious type—maybe he didn’t have time for what Tetsuya considers normal things, like video games and pizza and hanging out with his friends.

He smiles. It looks like they have a lot to learn.

“I didn’t say this yet…” Tetsuya begins, waiting for Seijuurou to refocus on him. The latter does, ruby eyes shifting questioningly to him. Tetsuya gives him his best smile and spreads his fingers in a motionless wave.

“Hey. Nice to meet you.”

**Author's Note:**

> aLSO L ET M E TE LL YOU I T IS STI LL SO HAR D TO WRI TE TETS UYA SA YING THE IR FIRS T NA MES WITH OUT HONO RIFICS!! The sACRIfices I make!!! for writing!! are! uncomfortable!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Also if you’re wondering why Sei is such an awkward child it’s bc he is pure oreshi sunshine right here. I love bokushi but because his father is the one who passes and his mother is the one who remains, bokushi doesn’t exist in this verse.
> 
> Hopefully I got all the details right I need h e l p I don’t understand Skype at all I don’t use it myself, see. Also Kuroko does know Japanese, verbally, anyway. He has problems with writing and reading it.


End file.
